Defiance
by Phantomflower
Summary: Uchiha Miki was not a weak girl. She was very opinionated on subjects like loyalty. When her betrothed Uchiha Itachi was forced to confront their clan's betrayal, she spared him from a difficult scenario.


Defiance

Summary: Uchiha Miki was not a weak girl. She was very opinionated on subjects like loyalty. When her betrothed Uchiha Itachi was forced to confront their clan's betrayal, she spared him from a difficult scenario.

* * *

Unrest had been stirring for years. It had started when she was a young girl. The Kyūbi attacked her village. Many of her clansmen had died protecting their home from the beast. Even so, several blamed her clan for its attack.

_The Sharingan could control the Kyūbi, _shinobi from the upper ranks muttered.

_An Uchiha must have set it upon Konoha._

After the attack, the Uchiha clan were forced to live in a clan compound together. They were constantly watched. The clan was shunned by several factions in Konohagakure.

Uchiha Miki was not as oblivious to the running of the Uchiha clan as she would like. Many an occasion, the chunin-rank kunoichi walked home after a mission, only to stop in the doorway. Her mother and father would be at the kitchen table, discussing rebellion against the village.

The first time it happened, she was completely floored.

_What idiots! Overthrowing the Sandaime?! The things they are speaking of could get them executed!_

She stayed at a friend's house that night. While there, Miki weighed her options. She could turn her parents in for treason, join in their plans, pretend that the conversation didn't happen, or spy on them for the village.

In the end, the raven-haired kunoichi chose a fifth option. She wouldn't intervene at present, but would refuse to undertake her parents' betrayal, and tell the Hokage if it became more serious.

The last several months had been taxing. Uchiha Shisui had died of apparent suicide. Miki and her lover Uchiha Itachi were sent on an S-rank mission far away. While the mission was ultimately successful, many of the others sent with them perished. Both teenagers were on leave from missions.

Miki slurped the last of her beef stew. Her mother gave a reproving look, but she ignored it.

"Miki-chan, such behavior is crude for the wife of the future clan leader. You should scoop up your stew with your spoon, not slurp it directly from the bowl," her mother scolded.

In contrast to his wife, Miki's father gave a hearty laugh.

"Dear, leave her be. Miki-chan is enjoying her food, just like her dad. At least she doesn't diet like some of the other crazy kunoichi."

Dinner finished, the lithe girl gathered the bowls around the table. Stacking the bowl on top of one another, she brought them to the sink. The water was turned on as sounds were heard outside.

Objects seemed to be hitting the buildings. They gave a _thunk _that Miki knew had to be kunai.

_Odd. Outside of emergencies, we aren't allowed to use kunai in the compound._

Not a minute later, a fist was pounding furiously at their door.

Miki's mother opened the door. Uchiha Yashiro of the Konoha Military Police Force breathed heavily, struggling to catch his breath.

"Negotiations with the elders failed. Itachi has betrayed us. He's killing members of the Uchiha clan as we speak!"

The kunoichi's parents glanced at each other, then their daughter. The jaw of her usually jolly father set itself into a thin line.

"We'll come out to help our clansmen. Miki, stay here."

The statement startled Miki.

"Stay at our house? Why?!"

Her father frowned slightly at his child.

"Itachi was betrothed to you when you were young. It would be difficult for you to see him as an enemy. If, by some chance, he comes here, you may be the only one able to talk some sense into him."

The blue-clad girl's mother bowed her head.

"Itachi is one of the village's most powerful shinobi. We might not make it back. If we don't, remember that we love you."

In a flash, Miki's parents and Yashiro were gone. The Konoha kunoichi turned off the sink. She ran to her room near the back of the house.

The room was quite organized. Her bag and equipment were set by the entrance. The bed was neatly made. On a wooden desk, photos of her friends and family were set in a row.

Miki gazed fondly at Itachi's photo. The longhaired teen was sitting on a high ledge, lips in a light smile.

He had been put through a lot of grief in the last few months. His best friend had killed himself, and he had been put on a mission with a high body count.

_Wait! That mission. When we had finally dealt with the enemies, Itachi let slip that his father didn't approve of the Sandaime's reign. His father wanted to take over._

Itachi spoke with disapproval about his father's aspirations. The wording indicated that the Uchiha clan head was part of the rebellion.

"_To be honest, I love the village more than the clan," the teenager spoke one time. _

With the wedge between Konoha and the Uchiha clan, it was not surprising how the Uchiha clan heir chose. He was putting the village at large above his clansmen.

The shinobi, unlike his lover, must have reported the Uchiha clan's treason. The Sandaime may have ordered their murder.

_I won't be able to talk him out of it, _Miki thought sadly.

Itachi followed any orders from the village. So did the kunoichi, for that matter. She would do anything for its sake.

That would include carrying out her own murder.

Miki wished to spare Itachi the anguish of having to kill her himself. The idea of the black-haired teen sobbing as he stabbed her with his tanto was upsetting.

From her bag, she slipped on a pair of gloves. With a morbid fascination, the girl fingered a square tin. A round phial of poison found its way into her hand.

Unlike many Uchiha, the kunoichi preferred using poisons instead of jutsu. Out on missions, Miki coated needles with the toxins and threw them at her enemies.

Opening up the phial and square tin, the kunoichi dipped a senbon needle in poison. Laying it to the side, she coated three more needles.

Faintly, she heard the door being torn down.

_Itachi's here. It's time._

Kneeling, Miki aimed the four senbon at her chest. With a quiet prayer, she flicked her wrist, releasing her coup de grace.

In seconds, the kunoichi's body collapsed to the floor. Every muscle burned, as if she were on fire.

But, the child felt no regret for her actions. She had given her life to protect the village. And, her lover would not need to shed her blood.

Her vision growing dark, she watched as Itachi entered her room. Covered in the blood of their kinsmen, he halted upon seeing Miki's crumpled form.

"Miki-chan, what have you done?"

There was no anger in his voice. Just the sound of a boy trying to fight back shock and tears.

"For Konoha," the girl whispered.

A smile formed on Miki's bloody lips. Passing into the next world, the last thing she heard was Itachi's voice.

"Miki-chan, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you in the middle of this …"

* * *

A/N: I needed to get out of a writer's block. While creating a profile for a New Gen Naruto OC of mine, Hara Naoki, an idea came to me. This idea being about Itachi's lover he was forced to kill during the massacre.

What if she died that night, but not specifically by his hands? And, what if she opposed the coup like Itachi and Shisui? It gave me a plot bunny.

The mission the kids were on just before the massacre would be a crossover one. It did not end very well. The world of my stories is a multiverse.

As for Itachi's reaction at the end … he may have been ordered to kill the clan, but he didn't expect Miki to kill herself. Her actions brought him into shock.

Any comments on this dark fic?


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